Here's a photo-filled review of how my week went. Well, my week until Thursday, when I went back to the big city for an interview day and wasn't able to cook anymore. I did, however, rediscover the joy of Pirate's Booty and find a restaurant in Chinatown that I would happily move into. I'd also like to extend a huge thank you to Brian, who cooked most of the meals this week. I don't know what I would have done without him.
I had planned to cook haddock, but after the (failed) kumquat experiment, I wasn't really in the mood to cook more, so the fiance stepped in to save the day. He made his specialty: Breakfast for dinner. And to make it even better, he fried pieces of Tuscan bread in a frying pan with butter. Yes, I said butter. Paula Deen would be very proud.
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| Roasted tomato and fresh mozzarella omelette with fried bread |
It was time to make that haddock I had bought from the grocery store on Saturday. I wasn't sure which new seafood to try, so I asked the guy behind the fish counter and this is what he recommended. Although they came with the skin on, he said that the people he knew that didn't like haddock the first time they tried it all said that it was because of the skin, so he skinned them for me. He also told me that the fish would taste a little bit stronger than the tilapia I was used to, but that I could cook it the same way.
I had planned on cooking it in butter or olive oil with some veggies and spices (for some reason I really wanted to use cumin), but I ended up not feeling too well because I have a cold that refuses to go away. So Brian came to my rescue again and made the haddock for me. He modified this recipe by Mario Batali:
Some of the differences were that he halved the recipe (except for the pasta at the end - we still have a ton left over) and that he used one and a half real diced tomatoes instead of the two cans. I wouldn't recommend those changes because the sauce was a little thin and I felt like the fish got lost a bit in all of the pasta. It was very tasty, though, and very sweet of him to cook me dinner when I was under the weather.
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| ***NEW FOOD ALERT*** |
Wednesday:
On Sunday I went outside to sit in the backyard behind my apartment complex and discovered that my backyard is really a municipal park. A big, glorious park with bike paths, benches, a playground, a dog park, community gardens, and horses. Yes, you read that right, horses. Here's a picture (it's currently the background on my computer):
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| It's hard to see it at this size, but those little dots in the pen are horses |
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| Hi Horsey! |
Of course, most of my coworkers (and Brian!) already knew about the awesomeness behind my house, but the discovery still made me feel like the little girl from the Secret Garden - I'd known something was back there, but I'd never imagined I'd find something as fantastic as this.
Now that I'd made my discovery, I had to share it with my friends! So, on Wednesday, I invited my friend over with her two kids so that we could explore the playground together. It was a great success and fun was had by all. All that playing made us hungry, though, so we trooped back to my house for dinner.
Since it was getting late, I decided to go with something quick and easy. I made lemon feta chicken with fresh mint and a big 'ole salad with cucumber, onion, cherry tomatoes, orange peppers, feta, and fresh basil (which I also used as a centerpiece). The baby really enjoyed the salad - she kept reaching for pieces of pepper. Here's what everything looked like:
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| I don't use lettuce in my salads - I think it's filler |
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| Hi baby! |
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| My plate - I really can't get enough of the lemon chicken! |
Thursday:
I bought a bunch of snack food to get me through my bus ride to NYC and my long interview day on Friday. I got Pirate's Booty, chocolate meringue cookies, mini muffins, goldfish, and fiji water. While it helped, it didn't stop me from being starving when I got to New York. Luckily my friend was there to whisk me away to Chinatown as soon as I got off the bus. We went to Royal on Mott Street. This place was amazing. Not only did everything that came out of the kitchen look and smell great, but it was also a lot less greasy than its American-ized counterparts.
We ordered chicken with American broccoli and flank stead with Chinese broccoli (***NEW FOOD ALERT***) My friend preferred the regular broccoli, but I liked the Chinese version. It tasted like a cross between spinach and asparagus.
This is me at the restaurant:
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| Hi everybody! |
And my fortune:
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| Exactly what you want to hear before an interview day! |
Saturday:
Brian picked me up from the bus and announced that after a month of wanting it, he was finally going to make grilled cheese and tomato soup. Who am I to say no to that? Especially since the rainy day and long bus ride perfectly primed me for some comfort food.
We used condensed Campbell's tomato soup and white American cheese from the deli counter. We like to get our cheese from there because then we can request nice thin slices. It also seems like it's more fresh when it's sliced for you. Instead of regular white bread, we got more of the Tuscan bread and used thick slices to dip in the soup. I also got more of that chicken sausage we used in the Arroz con Pollo.
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| Mmm......I'm never going back to boring old white bread! |
In Summation:
This may not have been the healthiest week yet, but we still managed to cook more than we used to. The haddock and the Chinese broccoli were both great additions to my food repertoire, and I look forward to making them again in the future. The fiance really pulled through and helped me out when I wasn't feeling well, which was very nice. He used to say that he cooks breakfast and I cook dinner, but this week proved that he's more than capable of switching things up. Next week, be on the lookout for that quinoa post I've been planning, the jicama salad that's been several weeks in the making, and hopefully more ways to prepare chicken than just with lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, and feta cheese. Please email me at nomoretakeout@gmail.com with any cooking suggestions or foods you'd like to see me try - I'm always up for new ideas!
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